AAR

AARON (H. mountain of strength. A. M. 3819; A. C. 1729; V. 1574), first son of Amram and Jochebed, of the tribe of Levi, brother of Moses and Miriam, was born in the land of Goshen, 115 years after the death of Jacob, and three years before the birth of Moses. His wife's name was Elisheba, who bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. While Moses was absent in the land of Midian, Aaron remained in Egypt with his people; but, when his brother returned, Aaron went forth to meet him, and from that time co-operated with Moses for the liberation of the Israelites.. Aaron was naturally eloquent, and was therefore made spokesman to Moses in presence of Pharoah. As Moses was appointed a God to Pharoah, so Aaron was a Prophet to Moses. While Moses was absent during forty days in the Mount, Aaron yielded to the wishes of the people, and made a golden calf as a symbol of Jehovah, in imitation of the Egyptian god Apis or Mnevis. After the redemption of Israel, Aaron, not unnaturally considering the part he had taken, was appointed High Priest of the Mosaic religion (Lev. viii. Exod. xxix.). His consecration to that office was, at the divine command, solemnised by his brother Moses. Our engraving represents the moment when the prophet, having purified Aaron with water, and put on him the holy vestments, 'poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him to sanctify him.'

AAR

A description of the dress he was to wear in his sacred office may be found in Exod. xxviii. We refer to the cut for the breastplate of judgment with cunning work, having four rows of three precious stones each, bearing the names of the twelve tribes 'like the engravings of a signet,' which Aaron was to wear upon his heart when he went into the holy place, for a memorial before Jehovah. The position which Aaron and Moses held, and the power which they exercised, excited against them Korah, of the tribe of Levi, with, Dathan and Abiram, and others, who, joining to themselves two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, men of renown, boldly charged Moses and Aaron with taking too much upon themselves. Moses put the issue on the rebels dying a natural death; and the earth is said to have opened her mouth, and swallowed up Korah and his associates. This only incensed the entire body, who employed threats towards their leaders. On this, Jehovah is represented as preparing to destroy them all, when Aaron, under the direction of Moses, makes an atonement, and the plague is stayed, after 14,700 had died, besides those that had perished with Korah. As, however, the discontent had not disappeared, an appeal is ordered to be made to Jehovah by lot, after the manner of the Arabians, who determine doubtful events by casting lots with their staffs. Accordingly, a rod is taken to represent each of the twelve tribes, to be laid up in the tabernacle: the rod that blossomed betokened on whom the choice and favour of God rested. That rod proved to be Aaron's. These accounts are not without their difficulty to the apprehensions of modern readers; but, in order to form a correct judgment, we must view them, not from our position, but from the position in which the actors stood. It is clear, that, unless the authority of Moses had been sustained, the purposes of God, in the establishment of his religion, would not have been realised. And the question which asks whether Moses and Aaron were disinterested and honest, must be determined, not by this or by any other particular event, but by their general conduct, and the general character of their institutions. Nadab and Abihu were destroyed for offering strange fire before Jehovah. This repeated destruction of life

is solemnizing. The benevolent mind cannot but deplore that the frowardness of the Israelites should have rendered necessary chastisements BO awful. Years after the death of Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Aaron's younger sons, were called to perpetuate the priesthood in their own family. Aaron and the Levites were to have no part of the inheritance in the land, but all the tenth in Israel for their service in the tabernacle. Aaron, as well as Moses, was not permitted to enter with the people into the land of promise, because of the rebellion at the waters of Meribah; but, being conducted to the top of Mount Hor, was there stripped of his priestly garments, which were put on his son Eleazar; after which, Aaron died (Numb. xx.) on the top of Mount Hor (comp. Deut. x. 6. Numb. xxxiii. 38), and was mourned for by the people during the space of thirty days. Mount Hor is a hill of considerable height, which is found in Arabia Petræa, near Wady Musa. It is still named by the Arabs, Harun's Hill. On it a building, called Aaron's tomb, is shown, which is in reality a comparatively modern

structure.

Aaron was no slavish instrument in the hands of Moses. He had a will of his own, and did not fear to give expression to it when he saw fit. In this independence we have a guarantee of the trustworthiness of the Mosaic enterprise, as it affords an evidence that there was no collusion between its two great leaders. An exemplification of our position may be found in the following incident: - Moses, having married an Arab wife, had thereby given dissatisfaction to his brother Aaron and his sister Miriam, who do not stop at general reproaches, but even call in question his authority. From the fact that the chief punishment was made to fall on Miriam, we think it probable that jealousy between the two females was at the bottom of this outbreak of discontent. The divine will, however, interposes: Moses is pronounced guiltless and faithful; Miriam is struck with leprosy. Here are circumstances which would have proved fatal to an impostor. Against the destructive influences of jealousy, suspicion, imputations, and penalties, nothing but an honourable cause could have stood (Numb. xii.).

That the Scriptures do not pretend to give a complete history of its events, or a full picture of its characters, is evident from the fact, that they furnish no details of Aaron's history, till, in his eighty-third year, he is called to his official duties.

The wisdom of Providence is exemplified in the different gifts which Moses and Aaron possessed. A union of the qualities of both was necessary. Moses was fitted to command; Aaron, to obey. The first had the high power which legislation requires: the second possessed the eloquence which can give effect to great ideas. Had Moses combined the excellences of Aaron with his own, he would have

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lost his meekness, and unfitted himself for his mission. Had Aaron been unsupported by the strong mind of his brother, his skill in words would have vanished into air Had Moses been more, or Aaron less, than they severally were, the due proportion of their influence would have been impaired; the martial element would have been superabundant, the religious element would have been defective; and as the soldier was only the forerunner of the priest, so was it essential that Aaron should have his own virtues and his own sphere; nor perhaps can we easily measure the amount of good which the speaking and administrative ability of Aaron conferred on the structure of the Mosaic polity. The greatest men are individually unequal to the execution of the grand purposes of God. It is only in Jesus Christ that history presents us with a perfect human model and an all-sufficient Saviour; and, for the carrying forward of his work, most various and diverse ministrations were required and supplied. Ordinary men should be content and thankful, if, unable to command or persuade, they are permitted to stand and wait.' equally true, that, in the great vineyard, there is work for every hand, as also there is (will men but be faithful) a hand for every work. How deeply idolatry was engrained in the souls of the Israelites, is proved by the share which Aaron took in the setting-up of the golden calf. To eradicate idolatry was most important, as well as most difficult. This was the first great work. The wound, if it could not be healed, must even be cut out. Hence arose the necessity of severe courses, which, if we thoroughly understood their aim and tendency, we should be less prone to reprobate. For the same great purpose was designed the display of the divine symbols, made on Mount Horeb, when Moses, Aaron, and the seventy elders, were admitted into Jehovah's presence (Exod. xxiv. 9, seq. Deut. iv. 10). Two things were to be accomplished, I. That the Israelites, who had been used for centuries to ocular impressions as to divinities, and so needed something in the way of evidence which appealed to the senses, might, in some sense, see the invisible God; and, II. That they who were to be the founders of a system of religion, whose very essence lay in God's absolute spirituality, might not, while they were instructed, receive gross and material notions, but be raised to a pure and lofty conception, of the Creator. These most important results appear to have been signally attained by the interview, when, though the company came nigh to God, beheld awful tokens of his presence, and are even said to have seen the God of Israel,' they were yet duly admonished of the impiety of making any likeness or image of the Almighty; for, as Moses expressly observes, they heard Jehovah speaking to them out of the fire, but saw no similitude. The expression, 'the God of

Israel,' whom they saw, is worthy of attention, as marking the yet limited extent of the divine omnipresence, which was revealed to the Hebrews, who, being unable to conceive fully and properly of a universal providence and an all-sustaining Creator, were instructed to form a somewhat just conception of 'the God of Israel;' the God whose people they were; under whose guardianship they were about to take possession of the land promised to their fathers; and who, in process of time, would pass in their minds from being their national God, to be the sole Governor of heaven and of earth. At first the Creator was known as the God of an individual, namely, Adam; then, of a family, namely, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; then, of a nation, namely, the Israelites; then, of the world, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Divine light shone forth gradually upon earth, and in proportion as men's eyes grew strong enough to receive and bear its radiance.

ABADDON (H.; in Greek, Apollyon, signifying destroyer).-By this word is indicated, I. The plague by which the Israelites were destroyed in the wilderness, and at which they murmured (Numb. xiv. 2—37. 1 Cor. x. 10). II. A punishment acting like a consuming fire (Job xxxi. 12. Ps. lxxxviii. 11). III. The place of the dead; Hades in Greek, in Hebrew Scheol (Job xxvi. 6; xxviii. 22. Prov. xv. 11; xxvii. 20). IV. The angel of the bottomless pit, Antichrist, the Roman empire (Rev. ix. 11; comp. 2 Thess. ii. 3).

ABANA (H. perennial), one of the rivers of Damascus mentioned 2 Kings v. 12, together with Pharpar, which two streams were probably tributaries of the Barrada, that issues from Antilibanus, and waters the wide plain in which Damascus stands,-producing the utmost fertility and vegetable beauty on the very verge of a desert; so that Naaman may well have preferred these his native rivers to those of Judea, which, with the exception of the Jordan, are shallow, and often dry, effecting little for the lands through which they flow.

In Solomon's Song (iv. 8), Amana is mentioned as part of Mount Lebanon. From this Amana the river may have had its sources and its name.

ABARIM (H. transits) is the name of a mountainous range in the country of the Moabites (Numb. xxxiii. 47, 48), which (according to Deut. xxxii. 49, and Josephus, Antiq. iv. 7) lay opposite to Jericho, and was very high. Mount Nebo, on which Moses died, was a part of the range; and from it a view could be had of the land of Canaan. A ford is found at its foot, whence its name may have been derived.

ÁBBA. This is a Chaldaic form of the Hebrew word ab, which signifies father, and has been retained in the common English translation in Mark xiv. 36. Rom. viii. 15. Gal. iv. 6. The word ab frequently enters as

an element into compound words, forming proper names: thus, Abner means the father of light; Abigail, father or cause of joy.

ABDON (H. servant of judgment), the twelfth judge of Israel, son of Hillel, a Pirathonite' (Judg. xii. 13), who had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts.' 'He judged Israel eight years.' This record shows in what wealth and state consisted in the days of the judges, and enables us to form some idea of the low degree of civilisation to which the Hebrews had sunk.

There was another Abdon, the son of Micah, whom Josiah sent, with Hilkiah and Ahikam, to Huldah the prophetess, on the discovery of a copy of the law, to inquire what the remnant of Israel and Judah should do to avoid the punishments denounced against them (2 Chron. xxxiv. 20). In 2 Kings xxii. 12, he is called Achbor, the son of Michaiah.

Abdon is also the name of a city in the tribe of Asher, which was given to the Levite family Gershon (Josh. xxi. 30. 1 Chron. vi. 74), probably the same as Hebron (the r being taken in place of d, which is not uncommon in Hebrew), reckoned in Josh. xix. 28 among the towns of Asher.

ABEDNEGO (C. Nego's slave), one of 'the children of Judah,' namely, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had conquered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and carried him and his subjects away captive into his own empire, were, by express command of the king, given to Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, chosen of 'the king's seed and of the princes, children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom and cunning,' in order that they might be taught the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.' Chaldean names were also given them,to Daniel that of Belteshazzar, to Hananiah that of Shadrach, to Mishael that of Meshach, and to Azariah that of Abednego. And God gave these four children of the Jews, knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams' (Dan. i.). In consequence of Daniel's skill in interpreting a dream, he was himself made supreme judge in the highest court, while his three companions were set over the affairs of the province of Babylon.' But one of those great and sudden changes ensued, to which Eastern courts are liable. Not improbably, by the intrigues of the native priests, who disliked the Hebrew favourites, a huge image of gold was set up in the plain of Dura; and when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to fall down and worship it, they were cast into a burning fiery furnace.' Being wonderfully preserved, however, they were set at liberty, and promoted; while a royal decree was issued, threatening, with the penalty of death, all who spake against their